(Eccl. 32.24)
I was told
to live optimistically,
to notice not only the bad but the good too,
to watch not only in darkness but also in light.
I was even told
that darkness will turn to light
that storms will calm down
that God is able to draw out good from evil
from every evil, they told me.
I was told
to hope,
because courage comes from hope.
and only those who keep hoping
will be able to face any crisis.
I was also told
never to despise my life the way it is
because the worst tragedy that can ever exist
is of those who are never content with their fate.
I was told
to have faith
‘In whom?’ I asked.
And I was told: in God who is in heaven and on earth
in others, because they are your brothers and sisters
in myself, because I am the son of A King.
I was told
that all that matters in life is health.
However, not bodily health but spiritual health.
Because a healthy soul guides a sick body
but an ailing soul is not able to appreciate the miracle of a healthy body.
I was told
that true happiness,
the happiness that last, the intimate cherished happiness
comes through suffering.
This is out of the ordinary,
I remember saying to myself.
I was told
that I was created to live blissfully.
I was told
not to be afraid to scream out aloud
when I am sad and in pain.
Because- they told me –
there is always someone who listens to my cries,
someone whose name is Jesus.
someone whose name is Mary.
I was reassured that they have the power to shatter the chains of my pessimism.
I was told
that the world needs poetry
not just bread.
The poetry that comes when one learns to accept
contentedly
every day
in silence
the repetitiveness of life.
Poetry opens us to the wonder that everything is a grace.
Poetry opens us to the awesome discovery
that when one takes up the cross without complaining,
he finds out that suddenly the cross is carrying him.
I was told all this…
but incredulous, I doubted.
‘This is beyond my wild dreams.
I just cannot believe all this!’
And then I was told
to look at the sky
and the impossible will become possible
what is arduous will become effortless!
I was told:
With Him you do not need to give up
With Him you do not have to feel dejected.
I was told all this.
And I did look up.
And I saw the starts shining bright.
And I believed.
And …then I tasted Heaven.
“For Yahweh says this: “Look,
I am going to send peace flowing over her like a river,
and like a stream in spate the glory of the nations.
You will be suckled, carried on her hip
and fondled in her lap.
As a mother comforts a child,
So I shall comfort you;
You will be comforted in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 66, 12-13)